Sword Beach
Use attributes for filter ! | |
Locations | Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer |
---|---|
Ouistreham | |
France | |
Year | June 6, 1944 |
Date | 6 June 1944 |
Did you know | Five miles to the east of Sword was the Merville Battery where the Germans had placed 75-mm guns. |
Date of Reg. | |
Date of Upd. | |
ID | 1112541 |
About Sword Beach
Sword, commonly known as Sword Beach, was the code name given to one of the five main landing areas along the Normandy coast during the initial assault phase, Operation Neptune, of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of German-occupied France that commenced on 6 June 1944.
D-Day veteran Les Budding, 97, tells of first-wave role
... Les Budding, 97, was 18 years old when he served on board Landing Craft Flak 34, charged with providing covering fire for the first wave of troops who stormed Sword Beach on 6 June 1944...
D-Day veteran Dennis Roy Cooper gave the Legion D'honneur
... June this year, he was engaged in minesweeping from Sword Beach to Cherbourg from the Cotentin Peninsula...
I survived D-Day - my first champagne had
... He was one of the first men, the Gentlemen, the first step on Sword Beach - the British soldiers were , he says, and allowed the French to land first...
D-Day: What happened during the landings of 1944?
... In addition, Canadian forces established themselves on another beach - Juno - and the British got on to Sword Beach...
'I don't think we were frightened'
... They were a small, amphibious unit of highly-skilled men who landed on France s Sword Beach in the wave of initial advances on D-Day...
D-Day veteran Dennis Roy Cooper gave the Legion D'honneur
Dennis Roy Cooper was 23 years old when he joined the Royal Navy in October 1940
A 102-year-old former Royal Navy minesweeper France has conferred the highest military honor for his service on D-Day.
Dennis Roy Cooper was presented with the Legion D'honneur during a ceremony at Blandford Camp in Dorset.
Mr Cooper, who said originally from Portsmouth, the work he did was "incredibly risky", but he was "a bit surprised" to receive the honor.
"It is important that these events will never forget," he said.
Mr Cooper entered the Royal Navy in October 1940 at the age of 23 years.
In 1944 he was service as a sub-lieutenant, and helped, to the accompaniment of two mulberry harbours in Normandy. 5. June this year, he was engaged in minesweeping from Sword Beach to Cherbourg from the Cotentin Peninsula.
Mr Cooper, known as Roy, was presented the honor at Blandford CampIn the Royal Navy , confirmed Mr Cooper "saw extensive action of clearing mine fields" and played an important role in keeping the water free of explosives.
He received the award from Colonel Franco Cédric, the French Army , in The Presence of the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset Angus Campbell and other senior members of The Armed forces.
the acceptance of the honour, Mr Cooper said: "We are all Here Today because the victims in those Dark Days .
"I lost a lot of friends, I will never forget. "
Mr Cooper attended The Ceremony with his wife, Mary,, The Lord Lieutenant, Mr Cooper said the decision, made in honour by the French President, Emmanuel Macron - "in recognition of what they did".
The Veteran has previously been awarded the 1939-1945 Star, Africa Star, Italy Star, France and Germany star with Atlantic Bar, the defence medal and the victory medal.
After The War he left the army and a career in the car industry.
He moved into Marnhull in Dorset, where he lived with his wife, Maria, a retired school principal, for 32 years.
marnhull, portsmouth, d-day, blandford forum, world war two
Source of news: bbc.com